In a letter dated April 15, the California Department of Education formally approved the 40.3-acre site slated for the new campus near the northeast border of the Great Park. The notice arrived just 11 days after the state Department of Toxic Substances Control similarly affirmed that the site meets the rigorous standards for school construction.

The district is now in the final stages of taking ownership of the land from Heritage Fields, developer of the Great Park Neighborhoods. Specifically, both sides are working together on an implementation agreement that would essentially bundle the details of the transaction.

“Though a number of critical steps remain, the letter of approval from the California Department of Education represents the culmination of our due diligence efforts and moves us another step closer to beginning construction,” Superintendent Terry Walker said this week.

“As we’ve seen, the process of securing property for a comprehensive high school can be lengthy and require great diligence on the part of staff and our community partners,” Walker said. “But this will no doubt prove to be …read more